1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to emergency alarm systems, and more particularly to systems for monitoring and responding to the needs of elderly of infirm persons confined to residences. The present invention is concerned particularly with arrangements for responding to a call for assistance and a flow of information between the residence and the central responding station in the time frames leading to, during and following the arrival of assistance at the residence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
My prior application Ser. No. 520,495, filed Nov. 4, 1974, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,900 shows and describes an emergency alarm system combined with a residential telephone which is capable of sending an alarm to a central station should the resident fail to use the telephone with a given frequency, say once a day. Other prior systems referred to in the aforementioned application have also been suggested for monitoring the inactivity of a resident and sending an emergency alarm to a central station. However, these prior systems do not include components capable of assuring the resident that his call for help has been received, and continuing to monitor the residence until help has arrived so that the danger of further harm due to lack of prompt assistance will be minimized.